Roy Lang III: Forget the score, Airline's Hayden Hildebrand goes out on top

Airline quarterback Hayden Hildebrand (right) played the final game of his career Friday against West Monroe.

WEST MONROE - The Airline Vikings fell to West Monroe 34-14 in the quarterfinals of Class 5A competition here Friday night, but Airline senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand walked - well, hobbled - off a winner. And so did Vikings head coach Bo Meeks.

Meeks' second year at Airline came to an end, but, at the same time, he made strides on his third, fourth and fifth years in Bossier City - maybe more. Meeks can only benefit from Hildebrand's performance that culminated a courageous six-week stretch.

Twice, Hildebrand was knocked out of Friday's game against the Rebels. He was carried off the field on both occasions. As it turns out, the Vikings have cleverly hidden the fact Hildebrand had been playing with a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee - not exactly the dream injury for a football player; especially a dual-threat quarterback.

But Hildebrand knew the clock was ticking swiftly on his career at Airline.

"It got serious when we played Byrd, but I didn't want to miss any games," Hildebrand said. "It's my senior year. Tonight it locked up on me. We got (my knee) back in, but it was a little too late I guess.

"It's sore right now; I knew it would be. I can mess up my knee permanently, but I'm not going to miss my last game."

Airline advanced to the second round of the postseason last year - Meeks' first year - and won two playoff games this season. Although watching the season end Friday wasn't Hildebrand's goal, he feels the table is set for the future.

If returning players and future Vikings took anything from the effort of No. 12, the sky's the limit.

"That's exactly what we want our seniors to give us every year - that willingness to do anything to make the program great," Meeks said.

The first time Hildebrand was carried off the field, he said the pain level on a scale of 1 to 10 was "8." In addition to the pain, Hildebrand said he knee was "stuck."

"I didn't want to do a whole lot of running," he said.

He couldn't run. However, that didn't stop him from taking the reins with the Vikings 91 yards away from the end zone when they trailed by 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Three big passes brought Airline to West Monroe's 15, but a fumble stopped the drive - and Hildebrand's career at Airline. The second time he was taken off the field, the pain level approached 10.

"I wish we could have finished the drive," he said.

Hildebrand is committed to play football at Central Arkansas, but his legacy won't soon be forgotten off Viking Drive.

"He's amazing," Meeks said. "I knew when we coached against him (while at Calvary) what kind of competitor he was. He's just one example of the kids we have here. We have great young men who battle every time we go out. I'm extremely proud."

Meeks, too, is confident his program is going in the right direction.

"We're going to have a lot of great guys coming back," he said. "It's a process. Second round, third round - we have to learn what it takes to win these games. We're excited about moving forward."

Connect with Roy Lang III on Twitter at @RoyLangIII.

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Roy Lang III: Forget the score, Airline's Hayden Hildebrand goes out on top